More User Reviews:

Excellent clarity in this very dark brown ale. The body is topped by a creamy tan head that is very durable and leaves the glass almost totally coated. Both flavor and aroma are about average for style, if a touch more hoppy than a European version. Dark and medium roasted malts lend a lingering malty aftertaste. No burnt notes.

Once again with Monteith's beers, the head dies really fast, inoffensive, bland, slightly hoppy, a bit burnt, slightly artificial with some chemicals present, I would drink this again, only for the fact that i bought a 6 pack. (226 characters)

pours out a dark black beer. Shows light very faintly through with red tones. Tan head small and weak. Smells mostly of coffee ,slight smokiness in the background. Taste of coffee, much like a stout,,a dry beer, and has an astringent feel. Besides the astringency i like this beer. No mouthfeel to speak of. A very drinkable beer, slightly dry but not enough to make unpleasant (377 characters)

nice head on top dense black...great massive topographic map of lacing

slight toasty malt nose, but nothing jumps out.

taste is a little better than the nose...some flavor...very smooth but nothing amazing. nice creamy mouthfeel with a slight crispness making this drinkable and sessionable but not sure i'd want to get too bored. one of the lightest black beers i've ever had. a great beer for after mowing the lawn if you want refreshment and some flavor. (459 characters)

Poured from a brown 11.2 oz. bottle. Has a black color with a small head. Smell is of roasted malts with a touch of coffee. Taste is mild compared to the smell, again malts with a hint of coffee. Feels medium bodied in the mouth and has average drinkability. Overall this is a fairly decent beer. (296 characters)

Pours black with a small fading tan head. Nose shows roasted malt, caramel and faint smoke. Pretty nice, quite sweet smelling. Flavours are along the same lines: roasted malt, soft coffee and a little sweet caramel. Could do with more carbonation. (250 characters)

Bottle: Poured a light black color beer with a medium foamy head with good retention and some lacing. Aroma of light roasted malt with light lactic sugar notes is quite enjoyable. Taste is also a well balanced mix between some roasted malt and light sugar notes. Body is about average with good carbonation. Nothing earth shattering but well brewed and enjoyable. (363 characters)

Black, well deep brown in the glass with a nice head of tan foam. Subtle carbonation visible. Coffee roasted malt in the nose with a pleasant citrusy hop overtone. Initial taste is the same with a smoky, bitter aftertaste. The thinner body was refreshing. All well balanced and extremely smooth. Very drinkable and enjoyable. (325 characters)

Poured from a 33cl bottle into a pint glass. Best by date of Nov 09 on back label. The color was dark brown with mahogany highlights. Good sliding lace. It had a large 2 finger tan head that slowly settled into a thick collar and whispy film.

Sweet malt aroma with roasted malts as well. Missing the darker roast, smoke and coffee tones that I usually find in schwarzbiers. Was good smelling but could have been better with a addition or two of those. The taste followed the aroma. More sweet than roasted. Really needed something to cut the sweet. Again, not bad but could use a little something more. Mouthfeel was medium with good carb levels but a touch of watery.

Overall, a good but not stellar beer. Mild recommend especially if you are looking to knock New Zealand off your countries tried list. For me, one and done as better ones out there unless someone offered me one.

Pours a dark ruby brown with a fair amount of tan head that fades away pretty quickly. Smells of sweet roast malt and a little coffee, very pleasant. Tastes drier than the smell led me to believe. It's sweeter than average, but most of the flavor is just roastiness. Not much in the way of hops or bitterness but that would be too much I think. Mouthfeel is pretty heavy. A little harsh on the tip of the tongue, with light carbonation all over. All in all, it's very drinkable, fairly well balanced, nothing is really overpowering. I like it, I'll probably get it again. (571 characters)

Initial aroma leans towards a Stout maltiness smell and mild chocolate notes waft through the air: good for a Black Lager.

The taste is also Stoutish, but with the lager crispness reminding you this isn't at ale based beer. Those aforementioned chocolate notes can be found it the taste as well as in the nose along with slightly burnt caramel flavour.

A lot better than I thought it would be and could well be my highest scoring beer of this style so far. (674 characters)